This invention relates to the generation of electrical energy by the thermonuclear processes, and in particular to a novel method and apparatus for heating and compressing plasma is nuclear devices.
There currently exists the need for new techniques that will permit the construction of power generating stations that are relatively small when compared to conventional thermonuclear reaction designs. It is desirable that full size power generating thermonuclear reactors be built in sizes 1000 times smaller than those possible with currently projected devices. This would enable the utilization of these machines in spacecraft designed for deep space missions. They could also be utilized for marine propulsion. In these and other applications it may also be required to provide direct conversion of thermonuclear energy to electrical energy without any intervening process involving reacting blankets (lithium blankets) and the conventional thermal cycle machinery (steam turbines) required with most conventional designs.
For various reasons state-of-the-art technology is not adequate to provide devices meeting the above criteria. Although heating plasma structures by magnetic mirror compression fields provides a solution, all previous attempts to do so have failed because current methods involve heating a plasma ring that is moving with respect to the compression coils. This results in a very low coefficient of coupling and a very inefficient heating process. Furthermore, the rate of rise of the compression field in conventional devices must be very fast requiring expensive, complex equipment.
There currently exists the need, therefore, for efficient, inexpensive means for compressing and heating plasma in thermonuclear devices. The present invention is directed toward satisfying that need.